Labor push for multi-function childhood centres

January 28 2003By Carol Nader

The federal ALP plans a new approach to child care to encourage a smoother transition to the classroom. Under a three-year plan, multi-function early childhood centres would be set up offering long-day care, pre-school, maternal and child health services, and parenting classes.

A national commissioner for children and a national curriculum for children aged under five are also features of Labor's discussion paper - Growing Up: Investing in the Early Years.

The program for under-fives would not be as structured as for those of school years but would provide a guide to parents, Labor's children and youth spokeswoman Nicola Roxon said.

"This is more something that we see as being a guide to a child's development in those early years and would include some of the ways you can help your children learn and develop in those early years," she said.

Ms Roxon said research showed that most of a person's brain developed in the first five years so it was important for children to have positive experiences. ");document.write("

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Opposition Leader Simon Crean said the aim was to improve a child's development.

"The term 'one-stop shop' is a good description of what we are trying to achieve in the greater integration, ensuring that when parents bring their kids to a child-minding centre, or to a baby health centre, they can get better information and better access to assistance in the early-learning agenda," he said.

Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth chief Fiona Stanley, the Australian of the Year, endorsed an integrated approach to child care.